1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shock absorber upper mount assembly for an automotive vehicle, and more particularly, to tunable isolator insert in the upper mount assembly of an automotive vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
Automotive vehicles include suspension systems between the vehicle body and the axles to prevent damage to the vehicle and improve vehicle ride and comfort by absorbing vibrations transmitted from the road through the wheel and axle to the vehicle.
Suspension systems commonly include a coil spring compressed between the axle and vehicle body for absorbing impact load from the road and a shock absorber coupled between the axle and vehicle body for absorbing loads and suppressing vibrations in the system. The spring and shock absorber are coupled to the axle and vehicle body at opposite ends. The upper end is secured to the vehicle body by an upper mount assembly. The upper mount assembly typically includes a stamped metal bracket fixedly secured to the vehicle body and having a central bore for receiving the shock absorber and a spring seat for receiving the coil spring. A resilient bumper is seated between the central bore and shock absorber for isolating vibrations from the shock absorber from the bracket and vehicle body.
It is desirable, however, to improve the dampening and isolation of loads and vibrations transmitted from the coil spring and shock absorber through the upper mount assembly to the vehicle body and tune the upper mount assembly as desired for optimum performance.